BRITISH PC HELD IN INDIA OVER UKP1M HEROIN HAUL

A BRITISH police officer has been arrested in India and accused of trying
to smuggle heroin worth almost UKP 31m into Britain.

Shabir Rehman Abdul Mubarak, a constable from Preston, Lancashire, was one
of five men held in Bombay by Indian drug squad officers on Friday. He
holds both Indian and British passports, although his superiors in the
Lancashire force had been unaware of his dual nationality, which usually
bars people from serving in the police.

Bombay police said the suspects were found with 5 kilograms of
"superior-quality heroin" with a street value of UKP950,000. It is alleged
that Mubarak used his police warrant card to try to smuggle the drugs onto
a flight to Dubai, where the suspects were scheduled to catch a flight to
Manchester.

The drugs were said to have been hidden inside a Teacher's whisky box
attached to Mubarak's suitcase. "The stuff was glued to the suitcase and
enveloped with carbon paper and dry fish to avoid detection by x-ray and
sniffer dogs," said Ajbay Ubale, of the Indian Narcotics Control Bureau.

Mubarak's uncle, Talab Suleman Bhegani, also a dual Indian and British
national from Lancashire, was arrested with him in Bombay. They are both
being held in custody.

Assistant Chief Constable Julia Hodson, of Lancashire police, confirmed
that Mubarak "is part of the force and is attached to our southern division
which covers Chorley, Leyland and Skelmersdale".

A Lancashire police spokesman said: "This has come out of the blue and
other officers will be very surprised. It really does not help morale, or
the image of this force."

Bombay police said in a statement last night that Mubarak "has also
admitted to have carried drugs to the UK in the past".